Glasnow, Meadows, Peraza, Bell, Schwarber

[kawaise]

In my local 10-team, 5x5, NL-only keeper league we have a rather shallow farm team (only three players). We're allowed to add a farm player once you activate one from your roster. With Michael Taylor getting recalled again, I will activate him this time, in order to add another farm hand. What's VERY nice about this league is that the salary of a farm player is only $5 ($260 auction budget) upon activation. Thus, quality bats are GOLDEN (You may very well question whether or not Taylor's bat is "quality".).

Lucas Giolito and JP Crawford are also on my farm team. I typically stay away from young pitchers, though Giolito has had my attention from the time Washington first drafted him. I've already traded Jonathan Gray this year in return for Archie Bradley; then spun Bradley in part of a deal that landed me, among others, Kershaw.

Please help me rank these players:

Tyler Glasnow, Pittsburgh - Another pitcher I've followed since he was drafted; concerned that I'd have two of my three farm spots taken by pitchers.
Austin Meadows, Pittsburgh - Three years younger than ....
Josh Bell, Pittsburgh - What will Pittsburgh do with the current slate of quality players in their outfield? A trade is the only thing that seems reasonable to get Bell on the field.
Jose Peraza, Atlanta - Intriguing, as is ...
Raimel Tapia, Colorado - Would like more power on my farm team, though.
Kyle Schwarber, Chicago - Here's my man-crush.

In fighting the temptation to roster two pitchers I'm tempted to rush after the shiny new toy - Schwarber.

RHD's rankings are helpful; any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Judge Jude]

given the high quality of the farmhands available, I'd go with Schwarber. Offensive upside is crazy high, and if he stalls you can - wait, can you sub out one good farmhand and take a new one, or just if there's a recall?

fyi, I own Giiolito. And Gray. And Bell, who could wind up at 1B at some point I believe.

[kawaise]

given the high quality of the farmhands available, I'd go with Schwarber. Offensive upside is crazy high, and if he stalls you can - wait, can you sub out one good farmhand and take a new one, or just if there's a recall?

fyi, I own Giiolito. And Gray. And Bell, who could wind up at 1B at some point I believe.

Yes, we can drop a farm player and acquire a new one at any time during the season, subject to transaction fees. I've toyed with dropping players, but just left that thought simmering .... how could you drop players like Giolito and Crawford?

[Sour Masher]

I'm a big Giolito fan. I, like you, have followed him from the start. If it wasn't for his TJ that slowed him down to start his career, I think his hype train would be even fuller with believers right now. I think he is a lock. After that, I think it is a tough call between Crawford, Glasnow, and Schwarber. Each has flaws. Crawford slowed after a hot start and I don't think he is going to be an impact bat or runner at the next level. The fail rate for MIFers is really high, but JP has the advantage of pairing a solid bat with a strong glove, so it is hard to give up on a guy like that--I agree, I'd keep him. Finally, like you, I am a big believer in Glasnow, and I'd fit him into the trio. The one flag on Glasnow, if you want to talk yourself out of keeping him in favor or Schwarber, who I agree has big offensive upside, or Meadows, is that Glasnow has yet to show he can go deep into games. So, he hasn't shown true ace level potential despite his ace level stuff.

[rhd]

Kawaise, in your situation, going by what you described, I wouldnt necessarily go by how these players are ranked on my list. I think your strategy of activating Taylor makes sense, altho I think him fitting into his MLB team lineup is as problematic as it may be for Bell. Since Glasnow and Peraza are seem to the closest to MLB, I'd rank those 2 higher than the others, since next year you can employ the same strategy to activate them in order to make room for another prospect. Glasnow I think is the best prospect and he projects to be at least a #3 starter, maybe more and he's likely to be up sometime in 2015. But I might take Peraza over him. I cant see LaStella blocking him and Peraza has great SB potential. I've heard him projected to be the future 2Bman for the Braves anyway.

SChwarber looks like a very good prospect, but it's iffy whether he sticks at C, and if not where does he fit in on this elite hitting prospect-laden club?

[kawaise]

Kawaise, in your situation, going by what you described, I wouldnt necessarily go by how these players are ranked on my list. I think your strategy of activating Taylor makes sense, altho I think him fitting into his MLB team lineup is as problematic as it may be for Bell. Since Glasnow and Peraza are seem to the closest to MLB, I'd rank those 2 higher than the others, since next year you can employ the same strategy to activate them in order to make room for another prospect. Glasnow I think is the best prospect and he projects to be at least a #3 starter, maybe more and he's likely to be up sometime in 2015. But I might take Peraza over him. I cant see LaStella blocking him and Peraza has great SB potential. I've heard him projected to be the future 2Bman for the Braves anyway.

SChwarber looks like a very good prospect, but it's iffy whether he sticks at C, and if not where does he fit in on this elite hitting prospect-laden club?

I don't need any offensive production from Taylor (my leads are healthy) - this move will be to expand my roster (subject to fees) and pick up another minor league player.

Glasnow's talent is obvious. He made small gains in his SO/K ratio this year. His control only grades out as a 45 - the lowest of any of the top-10 minor league right handers.

How realistic is it that Peraza plays in the bigs next year? About 40% of his ABs were at AA this year.

My middle infield this year includes:

Gennett; next year his salary will be $6 in his option year contract
Owings; same contract as Gennett - $6C
Rendon; I will long-term him and possibly play him at 3b (he's currently in my MI spot).

[Gregg]

In this case shouldn't at least part of the equation be how does your league value hitting prospects vs. pitching prospects? The need to trade prospects is a big part of many title runs. In our league big power trumps big arms. Plus you got that whole TJ thing going on.

[cardboardbox]

How realistic is it that Peraza plays in the bigs next year? About 40% of his ABs were at AA this year.

My middle infield this year includes:

Gennett; next year his salary will be $6 in his option year contract
Owings; same contract as Gennett - $6C
Rendon; I will long-term him and possibly play him at 3b (he's currently in my MI spot).

With only a three player farm system, your goal should be to push players through as fast as possible. I think Peraza is up first out of the players listed. Schwarber is probably on the Bryant schedule so expect him to stay in minors most of next year unless he learns how to play C.

[kawaise]

Thanks for the feedback. I ended up picking up Peraza. His speed and run scoring potential was the deciding factor. Schwarber and Glasnow were hard to take a pass on, but I think it's the best play for my team. Hey, if Peraza is lucky enough to make Atlanta's opening day roster I'll even have another pick at the auction next year.